Fire safety in high rise flats

Report any faults in your own flat, as well as faults or damage in communal areas.

To report a fault call 0300 123 6633 or reports can be made through the South Tyneside Homes website.

Report any changes in your circimstances

If you have an illness or injury that limits your ability to move or respond, make sure you re-evaluate your escape plan.

Plan an exacpe route

• Be prepared - make an escape plan.
• Make sure everyone in your property knows how to escape.
• Make sure exits are kept clear.
• The best route is the normal way in and out of your home.
• Take a few minutes to practice your escape plan.
• Review your plan if the layout of your home changes.
• Keep door and window keys where everyone in your home can find them.

Before you go to bed

• Make a bedtime check, you are more at risk from a fire when asleep, so it's a goodidea to check your home before you go to bed.
• Close inside doors at night to stop a fire from spreading.
• Turn off and unplug electrical appliances unless they are designed to be left on - like your freezer.
• Check your cooker is turned off.
• Do not leave the washing machine on.
• Put candles and cigarettes out properly.
• Make sure exits are kept clear.
• Keep door and window keys where everyone in your home can find them.
• Do not charge any electrical goods overnight such as mobile telephones, e-cigarettes, tablets, including batteries for e-bikes, e-scooters or mobility scooters.

In the kitchen

• Avoid leaving children in the kitchen alone when cooking on the hob. Keep matches and sauce pan handles out of their reach to keep them safe.
• Take extra care if you need to leave the kitchen while cooking, take pans off the heat or turn them down to avoid risk.
• Make sure saucepan handles don't stick out - so they don't get knocked off the stove.
• Take care if you're wearing loose clothing - they can easily catch fire.
• Keep tea towels and cloths away from the cooker and hob.
• Double check the cooker is off when you've finished cooking.
• If you have an extractor fan, please turn this on when cooking.
• Do not put anything metal in the microwave.
• Check toasters are clean and placed away from curtains and kitchen rolls.
• Keep the oven, hob and grill clean and in good working order. A build-up of fat and grease can ignite a fire.Never leave deep fat fryers or chip pans unattended when in use.

Electric blankets

• If using an electric blanket, don't leave it folded as this damages the internal wiring. Store them flat or rolled up instead.
• Unplug your blanket before you get into bed, unless it has a thermostat control for safe all-night use.
• Try not to buy second hand blankets.
• Check regularly for wear and tear.

Furniture

Always make sure that your furniture has the fire-resistant permanent label.

Oxygen users

You must inform your Building Safety Officer if you use oxygen.

Electrics

• Keep electrics (leads and appliances) away from water.
• Always check that you use the right fuse to prevent overheating.
• Make sure an electrical appliance has a British or European safety mark when you buy it.
• Check appliances against product safety recalls.
• Certain appliances, such as washing machines, should have a single plug to themselves, as they are high powered.
• Try and keep to one plug per socket.
• Keep your eyes peeled for signs of dangerous or loose wiring such as scorch marks, hot plugs and sockets, fuses that blow, circuit-breakers that trip for no obvious reasons, or flickering lights.
• Check and replace any old cables and leads, especially if they are hidden from view.
• Unplugging appliances helps reduce the risk of fire.
• Unplug appliances when you're not using them or when you go to bed.
• An extension lead or adaptor will have a limit to how many amps it can take, so be careful not to overload them.
• Only use a CE Marked charger cables for electrical devices.

Portable heaters

• Try to secure heaters up against a wall to stop them falling over.
• Keep them clear from curtains and furniture and never use them for drying clothes.
• Do not use portable gas heaters.

Smoking

• Stub cigarettes out properly and dispose of them carefully. Put them right out.
• Never smoke in bed.
• Use a proper ashtray - never a wastepaper basket.
• Make sure your ashtray can't tip over and is made of a material that won't burn.
• Do not leave a lit cigarette, cigar or pipe lying around - they can easily fall over and start a fire.
• Take extra care if you smoke when you're tired, taking prescription drugs, or if you've been drinking. You might fall asleep and set your bed or sofa on fire.
• Keep matches and lighters out of children's reach.
• Consider buying child resistant lighters and match boxes.

Lithium batteries

• Always use a charger supplied with the device or recommended by the manufacturer.
• Charge the device on a flat, solid and stable surface.
• Only charge the device for the recommended charging time and do not leave unattended - e.g. overnight while you are asleep, or if you go out.
• Keep the device away from flammable materials when charging.
• Never charge lithium batteries on your escape route. If possible, charge and store them away from your living areas.
• Avoid storing, using, or charging batteries at very high or low temperatures.
• If the device has not been used for quite some time, be extra careful when you charge it - lithium batteries do not like being discharged to a very low voltage.
• Protect batteries against being damaged - that is crushed, punctured, or immersed in water. Do not use if it looks physically damaged.
• Do not put batteries in your general rubbish bin or with other recyclable materials like card, metals and plastics.
• Recycle your batteries at:
  • Emmaus, 5 St James Mall, Hebburn, NE31 1LE
  • Jarrow Hall, Church Bank, Jarrow NE32 3DY
  • Jarrow Focus, Cambrian St, Jarrow NE32 3QN
  • Anywhere that sells batteries (places that sell batteries have a legal duty to take back old batteries from customers for recycling)

Candles

• Put candles out when you leave the room, and make sure they're put out completely at night.
• Use a snuffer or a spoon to put out candles. It's safer than blowing them out when sparks can fly.
• Children shouldn't be left alone with lit candles.
• Make sure any tea lights are kept in a suitable holder.
• Make sure candles are secured in a proper holder and away from materials that may catch fire - like curtains.

Tell us if you want to install satellite TV

• You must tell South Tyneside Homes if you are planning to have satellite TV installed.
• Our flats are built to slow the spread of fire from one flat to another (compartmentation).
• We need to make sure that the installation of satellite TV doesn't affect the fire safety in your flat.

Make sure that you do what you can to prevent a fire from starting in your home. For more information see know what to do if there's a fire and preventing a fire.